The spot of a 60° cone has roughly the same brightness if you look at it or capture it with a camera. In the second sketch you can see the result if we apply the 60° angle. To make it a little bit easier lets take an angle of 60°. If you calculate it you will get an angle of about 53,13° at which the altitude of a triangle equals the length of the segment opposite of the angle. This can either be achieved by making the diffuser a sphere with the light source at its center or we can look for another angle to to the math with. If we shine the light on a flat surface and the distance from the light to the surface is more or less equal we have a more even distribution of light. What we are looking for is the same altitude to area covered ration. But since the light has to travel much further at the border of this cone the light is a lot dimmer then in the middle. The further away we get from the light source the less bright the light will be.If you look at the first photo you can see that at a distance of 30mm a beam angle of 120° spreads the light over more then 100mm. The diffuser is a flat surface, so we have to look at the angle and intensity of the light. Lets remember that an LED is a single point shaped source of light that spreads its light evenly on every direction. With a distance of 17mm from the LEDs we already get a good result, but it can still be improved. Lets get back to math and analyse what we have seen. So in this Instructable I will share with you how you can diffuse LEDs the right way and what you have to pay attention to. The key to this is diffusion of the light. In light installations and in photography (a field I have much interest in) you strife for a more homogeneous distribution of light. But since we have a single point of origin if we shine the light of an LED on a flat surface we get a light spot that is brightest in the middle and looses brightness the further away you go from the center. This means that over the whole angle of this beam the same amount of light is emitted. High power LEDs or SMD LEDs like the WS2812b or APA102 usually have a beam angle of 120°-140°, 5mm LEDs can have a beam angle of up to 180°. Depending on the type of LED and how it is built the light is often directed in a wide cone. LEDs are a light source that emits light from a very small point in every direction evenly. But there is only very little information on how to control or shape the light that is emitted by LEDs. There are many tutorials on powering LEDs and including them in different light installations. Furthermore, paper lanterns, or china balls, are essentially lights with diffusion built right in, so you might want to consider keeping a few handy.LEDs are widely used these days even in everyday life and you can get a lot of information on how to use them. If you're working with LEDs, they produce almost no heat, so you can feel free to slap pretty much anything right on them. T-shirts, sheets, garbage bags, and even printer paper can make great diffusers, but you just have to keep all flammable materials a safe distance away from any lighting unit that produced heat. You can pick one up for as low as $15 on B&H and they always come in handy since they serve many different purposes.īut those are not the only solutions to inexpensive DIY diffusion. 5-in-1 reflectors: Technically these could be considered "pro" gear, but they're too inexpensive not to mention.What I like about this solution is that they fold up nicely for when you need to hit the road. IKEA blinds: IKEA's Schottis blinds are $3 per panel and measure about 35"x74".The good thing about them is they are large enough to cover a large area. Shower curtains: You can usually pick a frosted shower curtain or liner from a dollar store somewhere.However, it doesn't really provide much coverage for large areas. Wax paper: Wax paper is the cheapest item on the list in terms of square footage, and it's great because you can clamp it right onto your light without worrying about burning your set down.Here are the cheap diffusion alternatives the video mentions: In this video, The Film Look lists a few household items that are not only dirt cheap, but are incredibly effective at diffusing light and even withstanding the high heat of your lighting unit. If you need to soften and even out some harsh light but want to do so without emptying out your wallet, there are plenty of alternatives to expensive professional-grade diffusers.
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